Unexpected circumstances
by Arby
Summary: SeaQuest DSV season one-yes it's an ELF
1. Default Chapter

He sat cross-legged, lazily flipping through the pages of his latest risqué magazine courtesy a la Kreig. A light tapping easily distracted him. "Hey Dar." His aquatic friend yipped and chirped from behind the glass. "Yeah why not? Race you to the moonpool!" Grabbing his trunks from a pile of clothing on the floor he took off out the hatch. Laughing he rounded the corner to meet his friend and was greeted with a face full of water. "Very funny fish breath. Next time just wait 'till I get changed Ok?" Abruptly O'Neil's voice interrupted over the moonpool intercom.

"Lucas are you there?" Jogging over to the side he slapped the panel.

"Yeah what is it Tim?"

"You have an incoming call, where do you want it?"

"Umm patch it through to my room I'll be there in a sec." Frowning thoughtfully he left the pool tossing a grin at Darwin on his way out. "Later Dar." Entering his quarters he unceremoniously dumped himself into the chair by the vidscreen.

"Can I help you?" The man was older, dressed in a dark suit. This was clearly a formal call, but he noted that the clothing lacked a certain fashionable look that would have marked the man in the business profession. Lucas shifted uneasily in his seat.

"Are you Lucas Wolenczack?"

"Yes."

"My name is George Baker. I was hired by your father to deal personally with the issues regarding Cynthia Holt." Lucas nodded, still not quite understanding who this man was but following the thread of conversation. "As you probably know I've dealt with all the arrangements and personal details for the funeral, but there are still one or two things I need to.."

"What?" His face drained of colour, hands rested limply on the armrests of the chair and his breathing came in shallow rasps.

"Miss Cynthia Holt's funeral arrangements. Your father hired me to.." The older man trailed off at the shocked expression on the teen's face. "You did know. I mean Lawrence must have told you, because the funeral was four days ago and, and…Oh my. Dear Lord I'm so sorry, I'll call back another time this really isn't very appropriate at.."

"What? No I mean wait. How did it happen?" The man shifted forward in his seat as if by closing the physical distance between the two he could somehow lessen the impact of the words he was about to speak.

"From what I hear she died of liver failure. Her alcoholism caused her death." _Alcohol. She'd always drunk but never that much, had she? I mean yeah she'd had a little too much on the odd occasion, but never regularly. It was only sometimes the arguments with Lawrence were worse than normal because she drank. She just couldn't be reasoned with-but she never drank anything like enough. It was never a problem before. No-one would have ever thought that she'd..I should have known-at least I could have rung more often, forced her to speak to me. Maybe if I'd tried a little harder_ _I could have helped her. But now.._The tears welled up and he felt the bile rise convulsively in his throat. The only thing that kept him together was his anger. Why hadn't Lawrence told him?

"Why did you ring? Is dad paying you to do his dirty work for him?"

"I'm terribly sorry, I had no idea. He just asked me to clear a few things up. He never told me you didn't know."

"What _did_ you ring for then?"

"I'm not sure now is really the best time." Lucas leaned back into his chair, deceptively calm, his emotions broiling beneath the surface.

"Tell me."

"I'm supposed to deal with Miss Holt's personal affects and deliver them to her next of kin." Lucas relaxed and dejectedly sank back into his chair. It was surreal as he opened his mouth and from a distance listened to the words he spoke

"Just sell it all. I want to divide the money between charities. If you could sort it out?"

"But that's just it. You're not the next of kin."

"Excuse me?"

"I have to inform you that since Miss Holt left no will all of her possessions pass directly to her mother."

"How is that possible?" The man leaned back tiredly into his own chair gazing sadly at the boy in front of him.

"Because legally speaking Lucas, you are not her son." His voice was raw and hollow as the broken words awkwardly tumbled out.

"But that means.." He sat there in twisted confusion as seconds ticked loudly by. The transition came slowly. First he was utterly lost which was followed by the recognition of the truth and with it the resignation. "Mail me the documents."

"Listen Lucas I'm sorry, I really am so, so very sorry." Flinching away from the pity Lucas reached up and flipped the screen off. Then he just sat. Frozen in the silence of his room. In a far off corner of his mind he noted the distant humming of the engines, laughter and mutterings of far off conversation interrupted occasionally by the clanging of pans in the galley. Timeless. The mood was broken abruptly by the whirring of the printer as it noisily printed off his incoming mail. Letter from Mr Baker. He would soon receive his personal documents in the post, National Insurance number, National savings bonds, medical insurance number, birth certificate. _Birth certificate_. He was receiving a copy through the printer now. He glanced at the top. Date of Birth, Hospital, Height , Weight, all in order.

Name: Lucas Samson

Mother: Jessica Samson

Father: Unknown

And there it was. The irrefutable proof in front of him. The tangible reality that dragged him painfully back to the present. Rolling onto the floor he sobbed fitfully into the cold grating. Crying for the mother he'd lost, the mother he'd never known and for himself. Forlornly he fingered the paper, tracing his mothers' name softly with his fingertips. _Why? How could she? All of them! _Fragile hope lay between the lines. His desperate need to understand left no room for anger with his father. He felt unbearably full. Stumbling towards the bathroom he retched uncontrollably, grasping the white plastic edges in a death grip spasmodically with his hands. Continuously retching and retching until all that was left were painfully dry heaves, but he just couldn't stop. Eventually he collapsed weakly to the floor, tears streaking down his face. Crawling to the basin he ran cold water and washed his face and mouth. Composing himself he stood up and strode determinedly to his computer. He began to type. 


	2. Chapter2

Dr Westphalen looked up from her microscope as Captain Bridger walked in. A pleasant smile graced her lips.

"Nathan! Could you spare a few minutes and help me with these samples? I don't know where Lucas has gotten to."

"Sure Kristen, although if I were you I might not expect him for the rest of the day. He got a personal call that came through the bridge, it sounded pretty important."

"What do you mean?"

"It sounded fairly official, probably one of his father's secretaries. Anyway it's bound to be unpleasant. Thought I'd give him some space, time to cool down and sort himself out."

"Good idea, I'll check on him later just to make sure everything's Ok."

"That would be great, I've still got a few things to clear up with this month's report. So how are you getting on down here?" Westphalens' eyes lit up. Taking a deep breath she plunged, head first into a long, if one-sided dialogue over algae and it's potential medicinal properties.

"You see these enzymes _evidently_ have some link with..Nathan? Nathan! Are you listening to me?"

"Evidently."

"Honestly Nathan! Get off to the Bridge. Go on. I can tell when my subject is no longer entertained. Really Nathan you're as bad as Lucas." Doing a perfect imitation of a disgruntled teen Bridger turned as he walked through the hatch.

"But Kristen it's _Algae!_" Laughing she swatted his arm as he sauntered passed.

"Oh grow up!"

A light tapping reverberated from the door. He looked up both startled and puzzled by this intrusion. _SeaQuest, Mammal engineering, Computer Analyst, work_. Oh God! He was supposed to help Kristen in the labs this morning. But then this had happened. What was he going to do? As the door swung open he made a split second decision. And not unlike his father once Lucas made a decision he dug his heels in as stubborn as a mule.

"Come in."

"Hello Lucas is everything Ok? I was expecting you in the labs earlier on."

"Yeah I'm really sorry about that" _so, so very sorry. _Mentally shaking himself he continued. "I heard from my dad." _Well technically speaking anyway. _"We had another argument." _Well we would have if he'd actually rung. _"I guess I lost track of time. I'll make up the work another time if that's Ok?"

"Yes of course. What was it about if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh it's nothing." And suddenly the solution just popped into his mouth. The perfect cover. "It's just that he can't spend the summer with me. He's working on his power project the whole time."

"Oh Lucas, I'm sorry."

"No really, it's fine. Let's just say I've come to realise it's better this way." A dark look clouded his face with these words. Lucas was by nature a generous and forgiving person, but his father had crossed the line. Way over.

"Why don't you come to dinner with me? It'll help to take your mind off of things." Surprised he glanced at his watch – he'd spent the whole day in his room.

"Yeah I guess I am a little hungry." Standing up he fought the light-headed feeling that rushed at him.

"Are you alright? You look a little pale."

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little queasy. Must be that bug that's been going round."

"Well if it gets any worse come and see me. We'll get some food into you for now." Feeling the need for a distraction Lucas resorted to work.

"So how have things been going in the lab?" Now any other time Kristen would have picked up on the off key tone in his voice. It was the sound of a question when the person asking it is not entirely interested but is using it as a diversion. But as luck or misfortune would have it she was enthralled with her research and was keen to share her revelations with an intellectual mind.

"Oh we've found some absolutely fascinating strains of algae…" Lucas nodded and Ohhh'd and ahhh'd in all the right places, making eye contact occasionally and with half his mind kept track of the conversation so he didn't slip up. The other half was somewhere else entirely. 


	3. Chapter3

Lawrence paced his office agitatedly. He'd just gotten off the phone from a heated discussion with an employee. Mr Laker? Or was it Baker? Baker! Yes that was it. Lawrence had been building up the courage to tell Lucas. But it had never seemed like quite the right time until suddenly he had waited too long. How would Lucas have reacted when he heard that his mother had died over three days ago and he hadn't told him? Lawrence told himself he'd been busy. This was an important time for World Power. It was crucial that he secure financial backing from his sponsors. He'd had no time. And then before he knew it Baker had gone and jumped right in without consulting him first. He'd said he couldn't get a hold of him. That his secretary had said he was unavailable. Lucas was never supposed to find out the truth! Lawrence had had it planned out perfectly. He was going to tell him that his mother had _deliberately_ left everything to her own mother because she was not very well off and she knew that Lucas would always be supported by himself. A well intentioned lie. Everyone would have been fine and everything could have carried on as normal. But now! Lawrence stopped pacing and leaned against the window, watching the oblivious people going about their days. He envied the simplicity of it all. Completely unable to rationalise the situation and come to a decision, he did what he always did. Walking to his desk he pressed his phone.

"Juliet. Send up those papers for the presentation, I want to review them before the three o'clock meeting." Straightening his tie he settled back a little stiffly into his chair. He'd deal with his other problem later.

One month had passed since Lucas knew of his mother and summer shore leave was fast approaching. As far as anyone knew he was spending the break with his mother. Well, technically he still was, he reasoned with himself. In two days he'd be leaving, as soon as the SeaQuest docked at New Cape. All that was left was to check in with the Captain. Lucas had already played out the conversation in his head so that everything was planned for. Taking a breath he stepped forward and knocked on the Captain's door.

"Ah Lucas, I was hoping to catch up with you before you left."

"Me too Sir. I need to get hold of the details for the next tour. Mum's kind of busy so I'm not sure where I'll be when it gets mailed through."

"Yes of course, I've got the papers right here. I thought you might need them. So two months of holiday Lucas- got anything planned?"

"Well I was hoping to spend some time with my mom if she's not too busy. We'll just have to see. How about you? Meeting up with the doc?"

"I might be. What's it to you?" Lucas laughed: he enjoyed bantering with the Captain and would miss him. He genuinely hoped things worked out between Bridger and Kristen. They looked good together.

"Nothing, I just think it's great that's all." Bridger smiled companionably. Standing up he gave Lucas a brief hug.

"Thanks pal. See you soon and have a great summer. And Lucas? Stay out of trouble!"

"Who me?" Cockily he sauntered out of the hatch. As Lucas walked out the room Bridger noted in the back of his mind that he was a little tired looking- kind of strained and was perhaps a tad thinner. He opened his mouth to say something and then quickly shut it. The break would do him good.

Saying goodbye to his other friends turned out to be just as easy. Lucas joked with Ben as he dropped him off at the dockside.

"Hey Lucas is that all of your stuff in there?" He eyed the smallish backpack quizzically. Lucas had obviously left a lot of kit back on board.

"Yeah most of my clothes are winter ones so I left them. Apart form my laptop which I've got I don't need a whole lot of anything else."

"Oh right. So where's the limo picking you up?"

"Ben!"

"Ah come on Lucas you know your dad's loaded, it's like a rule or something." Lucas scowled at him. He hated "Rich" comments like that even if they were normally well founded.

"Yeah well I'm seeing my mom. That means I'm busing it to the airport."

"Ok, later Lucas!"

"Bye Ben. And Ben, stay out of trouble." Lucas grinned cheekily at an open mouthed Ben as he jogged off to catch the bus.

"Cheeky little s**."

The ride to the airport was a short one. Instead of catching a flight to Buffalo he flew to Los Angeles. All of his travel expenses had been pre-booked and charged to his father's account. He knew his dad could trace him if he bothered to look but Lucas doubted he would. And even if he did he wouldn't be able to figure out where he had gone. His hand dropped to his pocket where he felt the hard plastic of his false ID. Wolfman was good. As soon as he arrived he'd be untraceable. Three flights, four bus rides a hair cut and dye job later and he was there. He fingered the photo he'd bought at the last airport where he'd done his hair. In his need to look older he'd cut it much shorter and died it black. After much painful consideration he'd sadly had to say goodbye to his beloved flannel shirts and worn a simple shirt instead. Carefully he inserted the photo into the space on his ID. Within thirty minutes the self-sealing adhesive chemicals would have fully reacted rendering the ID authentic. Lucas Martinez was 21 years old and was born on the Forsett mining colony 22miles outside UEO territory in Crecian. Lucas was returning home for a visit. Having passed through the docking bay Lucas looked up at his "old home". It was a dump.

Lucas had never seen such a down market place before in his life. Although the underwater facility was brightly lit, the dreary atmosphere of the place was merely highlighted. People shuffled passed one another tiredly like old people- bent over by the strain of living. A group of teens walked by eyeing him up as they passed. They had a hard look in their eyes: the look of children forced to grow up too fast. The previous shift of miners unloaded behind him from the docking bay. Streams of dirty men and women piling off after a long days work. Some made their ways home, other headed for the bars. The artificial lighting began to dim, simulating the ending of a day. Not liking the looks the teens were giving him Lucas closed his jacket tightly around him and set off purposefully in search of a place to stay. He'd had a month to search for his mother- the closest he'd gotten was a personnel list for Crugers- the single largest mining company in the area. In fact the mining was the only reason this place existed at all. It was rich in Iron Ore, bauxite and copper and the complex had just over 1.5 million employees. His search was not going to be easy. Spotting a bar Lucas walked in and wanting to blend, ordered a beer. For and uneasy second the barmaid looked like she might ask his age but then served him anyway.

"That'll be $2.50 hon. You new around here? Don't think I've seen you 'round before."

"Yeah I'm new. My dad works in the south facility."

"You lokkin' for work."

"Yeah. There's nothin' going down there. I kinda need the money." She smiled kindly. She'd heard of the recent job cuts down south and felt sorry for him.

"I tell you what sugar, you wait here a while and I'll call Bud over to ya when he gets in. He manages the workers this part of the facility. Y'never know, might be able to fix you up with som'it."

"Thanks a lot." He flashed her a smile and tipped her. He sat for a while trying to pick up the accent a bit better. He knew his own was pretty distinctive and was desperately trying to hide it. Whilst he was sipping his beer one particular conversation sparked his interest.

"Bloody UEO. If they'd just keep themselves to themselves we'd all be fine- but them people just gotts stick their noses in other people's business!" The man spoke gruffly, the alcohol causing him to slurr his words a little. His friend nodded.

"You know what I heard?"

"No, what?" He leaned in confidentially but the alcohol caused his friend to talk loudly anyway.

"I heard some people aren't gonna stand for these "trade restrictions" no more. I heard that somebody's gonna do som'it about it."

"What? Stand up to the UEO?" Lucas frowned worriedly but was quickly distracted by the arrival of the barmaid with a balding man in his early forties.

"This here's Bud sweetheart."

"Does sweetheart have a name Sally?" Lucas stood to shale hands with the man.

"I'm Lucas, Lucas Martinez."

"I'll leave you too gentleman to sort things out."

"Hey kid, so what can I do you for?" Lucas smiled. In a funny way this guy kind of reminded him of Ben.

"Lookin' for a bit of work. I know I don't have a lot of experience but I'm a hard worker."

"Fair enough. You start tomorrow- trial run you understand? Good. But I'm telling you now kid, you better put a bit of skin on them bones of yours or you ain't gonna last the week." Chortling he slapped him on the back as he passed by. "8.30 sharp." Lucas groaned inwardly. _Exercise, oh great!_


	4. Chapter4

By five o'clock the next day his back was screaming. Gritting his teeth he used the pick to haul out the last bit of mineral. Because of his small size he had been selected for scouting detail. He could crawl into the smallest of gaps and take samples back for analysis. Despite the skateboarding style knee and elbow pads he was wearing his skin was still grazed ragged under his clothing. Gathering his tools and mineral fragments he began to crawl back. These areas were too unstable for machinery but were deemed safe enough for exploration by the health and safety department. _Health and safety my ass, _he thought ruefully as he snagged his leg on another piece of rock. Finally he reached the end and stood up to go and clock off for the end of his shift. He stretched stiffly and wiping his hands down his pants realised how sore and dirty he was. But like he'd told Bud, he'd needed this job. Needed it to find his mom and so he could pay the rent without raising questions during his stay here. As he exited the transport that bought him back to the main habitat ring, he spotted Bud waiting for him.

"Hey kid, fancy a beer?"

"Yeah sure why not?" He wanted nothing more than a long hot shower and to crawl into bed but he didn't want to cut himself off from his fellow workers. They might get suspicious.

"The boys tell me you're doin' alright."

"I need this job, can't afford to lose it if you know what I mean."

"Sure thing kid, sure thing." They chatted for a while in the bar before going their separate ways. Again Lucas kept picking up threads of conversation- people cursing "UEO" and the repetition of "trade restrictions" as well as mutterings of "retaliation". Lucas uneasily noted the movement of two military officers in a shadowy corner of the bar obviously talking "discreetly" to an informant of some sort. It was only now that Lucas realised what a vulnerable position he had put himself into. These people were not UEO and if they ever found out he was- well the words interrogation and prison sprang to mind. But finding out was worth the risk. He had to find her; it was driving him mad. On his way back to the small room he'd taken he bought a newspaper with the headline "UEO Strikes Again". It was obvious these people had been fed false propaganda by the Crecian government for so long that they would never believe the truth. The trade and economic sanctions imposed by the UEO had "apparently " been set up because it's own mineral prices were dropping against the highly successful operation of the Cruger mining colonies in Crecian. But Lucas knew that in fact these sanctions had been imposed for an entirely different reason- they were a protest against the Crecian governments' human rights policy. He remembered the report he'd seen on television three months ago: the ill treatment of prisoners and the corrupt judicial system heavily influenced by the military. These people at Forsett mining colony were completely sheltered from the truth and were being fed a pack of lies! And if the people believed the UEO were unjustly imposing sanctions, well they were more likely to increase loyalty and belief in their own government weren't they? Lucas turned back to his computer, _all the more reason to search a little faster. Time to do a little hacking!_

Nathan stretched and yawned lazily as he sprawled out in the sun. Next to him Kristen smiled.

"This is the life." And she was right. The sun shone jewel like, reflecting vibrantly off the blue sea. Brilliant white specks danced crazily across the rippling water. It was beautiful. From a distance Darwin could be seen frolicking like a puppy in the clear surf. A shrill ring from the vidlink inside the house interrupted their thoughts.

"We're not here." Nathan muttered grouchily into his beach towel. "I told them not to ring unless it was an emergency. There is no emergency."

"How do you know?"

"_Because_ there _is_ no emergency."

"Just because huh?" The link continued to ring.

"Alright, alright, I'm going I'm going!"

"I never said you had to go."

"Why are you going to answer it?" She paused.

"No. You have to go this is your Island and that's your link.2

"I thought so."

"Hey! Nathan put me down! What are you doing? Don't you dare!" She struggled as Nathan scooped her up and in one fluid motion promptly dropped her over the dockside. Chuckling at her shrieks of vengeance he turned and jogged back inside to take the call.

"Hello?" Admiral Noyce's face appeared on screen. "What's the emergency?"

"We're recalling you. Sorry to cut the break short but we've got a situation on the Crecian border- our posts have been picking up increased vessel movement in the area. We're sending you out to patrol the border."

"You mean a flag waving contest."

"A little flag waving never hurt anyone. Anyway I'll brief you properly when you're back on board. A shuttle should be there to pick you up within the next four hours. We're expecting the SeaQuest to leave in three days."

"Three days! Bill she's in the middle of a re-fit."

"I know, Hitchcock's putting her back together as we speak."

"Oh great I bet she's real happy about that." _I'm surprised I can't hear the screaming all the way from New Cape to my Island._

"See you later Nathan."

"Bye Bill." He turned to come face to face with a steaming Kristen- he'd forgotten about _that._

"All I can say is that there better be an emergency for your sake!"

Lucas looked around the facility furtively. It was his day off and he'd taken a transport to the North. His hack had landed him inside Dominica Bank accounts where he'd located a recent transaction at a small clothes store. Walking into the store he smiled at the assistant and said he was an old friend and was hoping to catch up with her. The lady kindly told him Miss Samson always went for coffee after work. _Miss._ Sitting down in "Cassys' coffee bar he clutched a piece of paper, scrutinising its contents carefully. It was a print out of her personnel file from work- it had her picture on it. The only picture he had that he could identify her by. He couldn't remember her at all. She didn't look very much like him except for her eyes. She had long red hair, small nose, small mouth and tiny delicate shoulders. He imagined her to be about five foot tall, almost fragile looking. She was beautiful. And incredibly young! She was only thirty years old! That meant that she would have been fourteen when she had him. Fourteen years old. Some of his anger that he understandably felt towards her began to melt away. What would he have done with a child at fourteen?

"Listen sonny whoever she is she ain't worth it." Lucas looked up to see the owner standing sympathetically over him. Suddenly he realised that he'd been there over four hours already, it was after five, she'd be here soon!

"Oh know it's fine I'm just waiting for someone." Nodding knowingly he went back to work. Some kids just had to learn the hard way. Shaking his head Lucas turned back to the door. And there she was. Or rather there they were. 


	5. Chapter5

Lucas gasped as he practically looked into a mirror save she was a girl and he was a guy and her hair was still blonde whilst his was now- she was his sister. He just knew it. A few seconds ago he'd never of believed he had a sibling, but looking at her standing there- twiddling a strand of hair as she ordered a couple of coffees and tossed the owner a sloppy lopsided grin. That was his twin- he had a twin sister. As is sensing his focus the red head next to her turned to look at him. Jessica. She gazed right at him, not knowing him, but unable to turn away. The blonde teen turned and looked quizzically at her mother who turned back to face her. Jessica's mouth formed a small, perfect 'O' as her head shot back round to face Lucas. Her daughters gaze followed her own, but she did not understand. "Who was this person? He looked kind of familiar but couldn't quite.."

"Go home honey I'll explain later."

"But mom!"

"Not now Charlotte, don't argue with me please. Just this once it's important." Scowling crossly at this new intruder who was obviously the cause of the problem, Charlotte stormed out. She frowned slightly as she left. _But by damn if he doesn't look familiar!_

In a daze Jessica paid for the coffees and walked towards him. They both sat down together at the table and she slid one mug over to him. "You look like you could use this- I know I sure as hell do." Holding her cup Jessica stared into the contents as if they held all the answers in the universe. Suddenly she came to an obvious realisation. "You've been looking for me." Lucas picked up on the note of wonder in her voice.

"You thought I'd never find out?" She had the grace to blush at that.

"No I suppose I didn't." She looked up at him, a strange sort of longing shining in her eyes. "Before I tell you what you obviously want to know. Before things get messy and complicated, I just want to tell you, it's good to see you. I've dreamed of it, for so long, well except for the black hair of course." They laughed nervously.

"Yeah well, what can I say? I needed the cover." Dropping the smile he leant forward earnestly. "Please tell me what happened, I have to know. Was that my sister? Do I actually _have_, a twin sister?" She smiled wanly.

"I guess I owe this to you. Better make yourself comfy; this could take a while. Where to start? Well, at the beginning I guess, I can't believe this is happening. Anyway…"

Tim O'Neil viewed the crew manifest list for departure for the third time. They still couldn't get hold of Lucas. He wasn't kidding when he'd said they moved around a lot. Finally Tim had resorted to calling his father Lawrence. He'd had to do this before and was not looking forward to the inevitable hours of grating conversations with secretaries that would play inane music at him while on hold. Sighing he resigned himself to his task. Surprisingly the Secretary picked up on the first ring.

"Um, hello, this is Lieutenant O'Neil of the SeaQuest can I speak to Lawrence Wol.."

"One moment please." Stunned with his mouth agape Tim watched dumbfounded as the screen promptly flicked to reveal the agitated face of Lawrence Wolenczak.

"How is he?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Lucas. How is he?"

"What do you mean 'how is he?' he's been spending the break with his mother. We're trying to get hold of him for an early assignment." Lawrence's face drained of colour.

"What? That's impossible, his mother's dead. She died a month ago." Tim leaned over and slapped the internal intercom.

"Captain to the bridge, Captain to the bridge."

"What about you, how on earth did you find out." Lucas looked down at the table.

"My moth.. Cynthia Holt died. I wasn't the next of kin."

"Oh Lucas I'm sorry. To find out like that.."

"No it's alright, it had nothing to do with you-the Wolenczaks', the Holts'-they're something else. You did what you had to. You did great." Tears glistened in Jessica's eyes. An incredible weight had been lifted. Subconsciously she had been waiting for years to hear those words. Shaking herself mentally she focused on the reality of the situation.

"But, Oh my god Lucas! What are you doing here? It's too dangerous for you." She lowered her voice. "If they find out you're UEO!"

"They won't find out." He pulled out his ID card.

"Lucas Martinez huh?" She shook her head with a strange mixture of awe, fear and pride on her face. Her emotions shone brightly on her face. "How long are you staying for?" Lucas frowned.

"I'm supposed to go back in four weeks-that's when the next tour on SeaQuest starts."

"The SeaQuest! My son on the SeaQuest! But Lucas how? I mean you're 'same age as Charlotte? Well, Who would o' thought?" The most she could have ever hoped for herself was a steady job at the bar. But her son, her son worked on the SeaQuest!"

"You could come with me. I mean when I had to go. Both of you, so we'd all be together." Jessica smiled sadly.

"We'd never get across the border Lucas. In case you haven't noticed our government "discourages" immigration. And even if we could get across the border, we'd never get through immigration. I've got no skills, no immigration ever takes workers without a profession and having to raise Charlotte as a kid, I've got none. It's just the way it is."

"But I can get you out. I've got friends-you could make a better life for yourselves. Just let me help you!"

"Lucas it's too dangerous, both for you and for Charlotte."

"Don't you want a better life!"

"Of course I do, but Lucas Charlotte and I have been happy here. I don't want to risk landing you or her in prison." He looked away frustrated. Not wanting to argue Lucas changed tack. He could convince her later after he had made plans.

"Can I see her?" Jessica smiled, pleased he'd given up.

"Of course you can."

Nathan sat with Kristin in front of the viewscreen. She spoke first.

"What on earth do you mean his mother's dead!" Lawrence shifted awkwardly in his seat.

"Well if you'd let me explain.."

"Please do." She folded her arms aggressively across her chest.

"It all started when we, that is Cynthia and I were laying down the foundations for World Power. I was supervising the structuring of the turbines in Crecian at the time. Cynthia, well we'd been trying for a baby for quite some time, but no luck. We'd even tried adoption, but with her drinking problem, well it was hopeless. Then one day I was walking past the site and I came across this girl. I'd noticed her before, hanging around, talking to some of my employees. Thin little thing, no more than thirteen or fourteen. Anyway it turned out she had been raped and was really hard up. She begged me to take one child when it was born. She was due to have twins you see and desperately hard up she could only raise one. She was desperate. I was desperate. I loved Cynthia and she was so unhappy with all of the travelling. I gave the girl, Jessica, cash and when he was born we took Lucas and she signed over custody. I could tell she didn't want to let him go, but she could only support one and Cynthia did so want a little boy."

"You bought Lucas!" Kristin was incredulous. Nathan reached out and touched her arm.

"Go on."

"I never saw her again. Once she signed him over and we'd changed his name we left for South Africa the next day for the next stage of the project. Cynthia was so happy. I was sure that everything would be fine." He trailed off sadly. "About a month and a half a go Cynthia died. The alcohol finally got her. Lucas found out and received his birth certificate. He knows the truth. Some of it anyway. But you see he wasn't supposed to find out. It was all a terrible mistake. I haven't spoken to him. I thought everything was alright. I was so stupid." Nathan stepped in before Kristin could confirm his statement.

"What's important now is that we find him. He's obviously gone looking for this Jessica and by the sounds of it we're heading straight for him. Check your financial records, he would have needed the money and we might get a lead to confirm precisely where in Crecian he went. Do you remember exactly where you met Jessica?"

"It was a long time ago. But the Power lines they ran quite close to one of the mining colonies, Forsett I think."

"Well it's a start." There was a dead silence. Neither Nathan nor Kristin could bring themselves to offer the small comforts of "don't worry" and "we'll find him". But Nathan couldn't be too hard on him. Either way it was Lucas who mattered. "We'll keep in touch."

General Hans Martouff sat like a fat cat in his plush office chair. Expensive ornaments adorned the place. Ceremonial swords, ivory trophies given to him for his successes. He was a man comfortable in his prime. But now that was under threat thanks to UEO policy. The mining had, so far, provided him with a healthy source of income. He loosened military intrusion and they loosened their purse strings. It had been an extremely profitable agreement for both parties. But with the economic sanctions imposed, the cash flow was slowly draining away, drop by drop. Now General Martouff was not one to sit and watch his fortune slide through his fingertips. Reaching forward he activated the ringing vidlink.

"Ah Mr Cruger, how good of you to call. I trust you have already had a chance to speak with Senator McKenzie?"

"Yes. I must say his forward thinking is quite ingenious. What do you have in mind?"

"A section of the Forsett colony. Pick a valuable area mind. Highly populated it will look less suspicious. The North perhaps? I leave it to you."

"I'll begin preparations immediately."

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you Mr Cruger." Switching off the transmission he settled back into the plush chair, comforted by the knowledge that his "prime" was well secured for the future. 


	6. Chapter6

Lucas made his way back towards the transport. His step was lighter and the tension had begun to drain from his shoulders. He'd found his mother. He was going to see his sister, tomorrow after work. He had a family. A _real_ family. _But for how long? _What would happen if he couldn't convince them to come with him? He couldn't stay here. It was too dangerous. His ID wouldn't last indefinitely and if he was honest with himself he didn't want to stay. He liked working for the UEO and he wanted to go on the next tour with his friends. They were his family too. But he also wanted to get to know this new family. The one he _really_ belonged to. Picking up his pace he decided on a course of action. He would ring Wolfman. If he had their "new" ID's in his hand then maybe it would be easier to convince them it was safe to leave. Then they could come home with him. He didn't know exactly where home would be, but well now that he had a family the geographical location of home didn't really matter. So caught up in his plans Lucas almost failed to notice the small group of military personnel guarding a couple of Cruger engineers as they walked by. They were carrying a large piece of equipment. As he passed he caught a split second glance of the logo on the large black box. It looked strangely familiar. _I'm sure I've seen that before_. Shrugging it off Lucas stepped onto the transport and let his mind drift off on other things.

Captain Bridger stood at the head of the table; his arms pressed lightly on its polished surface. Sighing he contemplated what he was going to say as the senior officers filed in. He didn't want to intrude on Lucas' privacy, but he had unwittingly put himself into a potentially explosive situation. It was important for his safety that the crew knew what was going on and deserved to know why. There was a very real possibility that Lucas would not want to be found. Lord knows what was going through his head when he took off in the first place! No one had suspected anything-and Lucas! He'd had carried the burden of this new heritage on his own for two whole months while still grieving for the loss of his known mother. Nathan was shocked to say the least. He was afraid for his young charge and felt an incredible sense of guilt. Lucas had been his responsibility for the last year as well as being a valued member of the crew. His crew. And if Bridger were to be honest, he would also admit that he felt hurt. Hurt that at the time when he should have reached out for help, at probably the most difficult moment in his young life, Lucas had instead chosen to go it alone. Finally the last few member of the senior staff came in, Ben bringing up the rear.

"As you know we are on route to the Crecian border as we speak. I'm sorry everyone's leave has been cut short but I'm informed by Admiral Noyce that we will all be repaid by extra leave on our return."

"What about overtime? Well I was just asking!" Ben retorted to the glares he received particularly from Ford. Nathan _almost_ rolled his eyes, but caught himself before continuing.

"As I was saying, our assignment is to patrol the Crecian border, namely alongside the mining colonies which are set up across the perimeter of their territory. I'm sure you've been keeping up with the news recently." Ben looked sheepish. "For those of you that haven't the short end of it is, that there is unrest caused by the enforcement of UEO economic sanctions. Since the region depends mostly on its mineral extraction for income it is the mining colonies that are being hit the hardest. In response to reports of increasing numbers of submersible activity in the area SeaQuest has been pulled for patrol duty until things quieten down. Mr Ford. I want you to plot a course for the Crecian border. Once we arrive I suspect we will be dealing with the odd angry customer around the colonies. Let's keep our cool people." _Now the hard part._ "On another note, as you might have noticed Lucas is not with us." At the nods and worried frowns he got from the room he continued. "It seems that we have all been kept in the dark regarding certain facts about his personal life back home. Recently Lucas has lost his mother. To make matters worse his father did not tell him and he accidentally found out through one of Lawrence's employees. But that's not the only problem. It has emerged that the Wolenczaks are not Lucas' true parents. My guess is that as soon as he found this out he began to trace his mother. Anyway the reason I'm telling you all this now, is that according to Lawrence, Jessica Samson, Lucas' mother, lived in Crecian. Forsett mining colony to be precise." Katie Hitchcock gasped.

"Oh Lord."

"Needless to say there is a very good chance Lucas has gone after her. Right into the heart of hostile territory."

Lucas wiped his brow and sat back on his haunches. He was exhausted. The manual labour of this job was really starting to bite. Sighing he got back to work, hammering away at the tough minerals embedded in the rock walls. Finally his watch beeped: coffee break. "Yes!" Crawling out of his hole, he made his way back down to the main area. On his way he noticed a couple of engineers wearing the 'Cruger' coveralls. They carried an odd, obviously heavy looking black box. And it had _the same logo that I saw yesterday._ One man caught Lucas' gaze and picked up his pace. It was then that Lucas saw the gun protruding from the inside of his unbuttoned coverall jacket. Something was definitely wrong here. Slowly Lucas moved his gaze on as if he hadn't registered what he'd seen and casually continued on his way. _Ben would be proud. _Sneaking a peak he saw them take the box to the transport, _headed for the North facility._ He went back to work as soon as possible in order to finish his shift quickly. Once again in his room in the little bed and breakfast/motel, Lucas plugged in. Downloading his e-mails he smiled. Wolfman was reliable as ever! The ID's were in the post- but there was something else. An attachment. 'Keep low, looks like your friends have come to pay you a visit.' Lucas clicked on the icon and was greeted with the front page of a familiar newspaper with a picture of a very familiar boat on the front of it. "SeaQuest: New Assignment" Lucas quickly scanned the article. "Oh no." By his calculations they would have left on Monday-that meant they were here already! Well not _here_ precisely, but patrolling the border. When they did recall they'd know he was missing. They'd call his dad. But who actually knew _where_ he was? To figure that one out they'd have to know what he'd gone looking for. Lucas doubted very much that his dad had told the crew. No. He was safe for now. Flicking off his e-mail Lucas went in search of his other worry. The logo. Hacking into UEO level 2 security, which was a piece of piss considering he'd just installed the security protocols three months ago, Lucas called up last months mechanical supply list for the SeaQuest. He scrolled down the list of manufacturing firms that supplied them. _There you are!_ The logo was a blue triangle with three symmetrical stars imprinted on it in yellow. It was a worldwide manufacturing company, which specialised in _underwater explosives. Why are they walking round with those? They can't use them for mining: this whole colony uses machinery 'cause the areas so unstable. So what in hells name are they doing with them: celebrating the fourth of July! _"Dammit!" Then he glanced at his watch. He was late for his date with Charlotte. "Oh shit." Grabbing his bag he turned off his computer and launched for the door. He caught himself as he stepped into the street, fighting the urge to run: he really didn't want to attract any attention to himself. He'd have to tell them what he'd found out. They could be in danger. He'd only seen those boxes in the North facility, no-where else. Finally he arrived at their place: a small company owned apartment. Knocking on the door he winced as he came face to face with a sardonic looking Charlotte.

"Well, well look who decided to show up after all."

"Listen Charlotte I'm really sorry for standing you up but I've found out something really, really important that I need to tell you and mo..Jessica about right away." Arching an eyebrow at the slip Charlotte admitted him in without further question. Jessica had recognised whose voice it was and appeared from another room.

"What is it Lucas? What's wrong?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think you're in danger, everyone here is! I saw the military and some Cruger engineers walking round with underwater explosives."

"But that's impossible I mean they can't use those to.."

"I know. Too unstable. Matt told me. Anyway I only found out 'cause of the logo. We use those explosives on the SeaQuest for rescue operations to break into other craft. But the amount I saw. Well, it could do some serious damage."

"But why would they do such a thing?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out." Charlotte looked at him quizzically, with a half suspicious look.

"How."

"I'm a hacker."

"Way cool!" Jessica snapped.

"Charlotte now is _so_ not the time."

"Well it is. Cool I mean" Lucas smiled, but not for the same reason as Charlotte. 

"Anyway, I just wanted to warn you. Maybe it would be a good idea if you moved into the main facility. If anyone's blowing up anything it won't be in the main complex. They'd bring the whole place down! That would cost Crugers way too much money to be profitable for any reason!" Jessica was not comforted to say the least.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to do a little more digging back at my place, the small motel next to Sandy's?"

"Yeah I know it."

"And I've decided. I'm going to contact the SeaQuest. They need in on this and I am way out of my depth. Lives are at stake."

"Good idea. We'll meet you there as soon as we've packed. Good luck!" Impulsively she reached out and hugged him.

Lucas smiled and looked warily about him as he made his way back to the transport. Things were getting risky.

Hans Martouff smiled at his viewscreen. So she was finally here. He'd ordered a small craft to tail her, predicting her course. From this it was possible to work out where she would be at a certain time. For instance useful information such as when she would reach a particular colony could be calculated with finite precision. Satisfied with his work the General chuckled contentedly. It was all up to Senator McKenzie and he should be fulfilling his end of the bargain right about, _now. _


	7. Chapter7

The SeaQuest glided effortlessly through the water. Apart from the odd abusive hail from disgruntled miners about UEO policy things had been quiet. Despite the quiet Tim couldn't help but think of the old proverb involving 'calm' and 'storms'. Reaching forward he answered the call that was flashing on his console. _Probably another miner._

"Lieutenant O'Neil this is McGath. Get me Captain Bridger immediately."

"Aye Sir." Flipping down his mike he swivelled inwards to face the bridge crew. "Captain, you have a priority one call from Secretary General McGath."

"I'll take it in my office." Standing crisply Bridger straightened his uniform before striding quickly to his room. "General."

"Captain, we have a situation. News has just come through that the Crecian mineral market has collapsed. Prices have fallen through the roof and needles to say there are going to be a lot of angry people out there. Step up to full alert but for now your mission remains the same until further orders is that understood?"

"Yes Sir."

"Your there to keep the peace Bridger and maintain a UEO presence, that is all. Good luck Captain. McGath out." Sighing deeply Bridger stood up and activated the ships intercom.

"All hands full alert, senior officers report to the war room immediately." _Oh Lucas what mess have you gotten yourself into._

Lucas' fingers swiftly skimmed the keyboard, his eyes never leaving the monitor for a second. He'd pinpointed financial records for the sale of the explosives, found the false account following the trail of cookie crumbs until..."Yes!" _General Hans Martouff._ So it was the military behind it. But who knows who else is involved or what they plan to do. Lucas sat bat worriedly in his chair. The box he'd seen was large. If placed right they could take out, well at least one facility! But which one? The North? Sighing Lucas began his next task. _Time to face the music._ Using the local media network he attempted to piggyback his signal on the same communications band that way he could redirect it and then…"Hey!" He was being jammed. Or rather there was so much incoming traffic to the SeaQuest that he couldn't get through. "What was going on?"

"Ortiz?"

"Sir there are at least a hundred of them. Those that have any kind of weapons are powering up. They can't do much damage though." Bridger nodded. Once the news had broken, swarms of angry miners left their posts and aimed to hit the nearest target. Namely the SeaQuest. At the time the market collapsed SeaQuest had been heading for Forsett mining colony as part of its patrol route. Now it could go no further. Harmless though the tiny submersibles were, they had successfully formed a blockade around her. She couldn't move without hitting the small craft and the small craft were not moving. Every one was hailing the SeaQuest demanding compensation for the sanctions that had caused this. In desperation they'd come out in their fragile craft to defend their livelihoods. And desperate men did desperate things.

"Helm, hold our position. Do not advance on any craft. O'Neil, do your best to clam them. This is not our fight."

Swearing Lucas tried again. It was impossible to get through and if that wasn't enough he had to make sure he wasn't found out during the hack. But he had to get through. He piggy backed off the media signal again, bounced it off the met satellite to the UEO military satellite, _Ford is going to chew me out _and then..

"Lucas? This is a priority one, highly classified confidential...Oh the hell with it! Captain to the Bridge!" Ford huffed exasperatedly. Lucas grinned thinly. How much more trouble could he get himself into in one afternoon? Bridger ran onto the deck.

"Lucas! Where are you?"

"No time, I'm being traced, Sir they've got underwater explosives inside the colony. Maybe the North area. I don't know what they're for but General Hans Martouff paid for them. That's all I know. I've gotta go."

"Lucas!" O'Neil shook his head.

"I've lost him Sir."

"Damn! Hitchcock send out the HR probe: do a sweep of the colony. I've got a bad feeling about his."

"What is it Sir?"

"Look for explosives commander. I think someone wants to do some serious damage and let SeaQuest take the fall."

Jessica and Charlotte stepped into the main complex carrying their belongings in a couple of large bags. Inside his room Lucas was packing up and stepped outside and was shocked by the sight that greeted him. All the miners had emptied out onto the streets, even though by his watch they should still be working. Angry faced people jostled him as they pushed by. He had to fight his way towards the transport. He had to meet Jessica and Charlotte there. They would have traced his call. Masses crowded the docking bays; security wasn't bothering to maintain control. One man stood on an upturned crate shouting furiously to a supportive crowd of listeners.

"I've had enough of them people stealing our money. It's time we stood up for ourselves and show we're not gonna take it no more. We block her in; SeaQuest can't fire on us I tell ya. The whole world is watching. Then they have to pay us back for what they've taken or we won't let 'em go. We'll make 'em pay!"

"Yeah!" Lucas paled as sick realisation swept in. It was just too perfect. It was planned. The explosives. _The whole world is watching. _The explosives were deliberately going to be set of to take out the whole North facility and SeaQuest be blamed. The UEO would be forced into paying compensation for the damage, lift sanctions and its reputation would be damaged irreparably. It was a terrible plot all set up just to discredit the UEO, but at what price? Wanting to be with his mother and sister more than ever now Lucas plunged through the crowds until…"There he is!" Lucas spun round. The man he'd seen carrying the explosives was pointing at him and two other military personnel were with him. The bottom dropped out of his stomach as he turned to run, panic screaming through his head all the while. But the crowd penned him in and within seconds the three men had him pinned against the ground. Lucas felt the unmistakable cold hard metal of a firearm pressed firmly into the base of his skull as his arms were wrenched behind him and cuffed. As he was hauled to his feet he caught a glimpse of a terrified, pale face framed by red hair. She was desperately trying to restrain her younger daughter who was trying to break free and reach her brother. Only thinking of their safety Lucas mouthed a silent 'No' at his Lotty. Looking at her, eyes speaking louder than words he stilled her futile struggles, if only temporarily. Tears streamed down Jessica's face as she watched her only son being manhandled onto a transport. A transport that was heading for the North facility. 


End file.
